Brickipedia:How to improve articles
This article describes several ideas and possibilities on how to improve existing articles on Brickipedia.
What to do in general[edit source]
- Take a look at the Manual of Style and try to apply as many of its points as possible to the respective article.
- Is the article already categorized? If not, put the article in a fitting category by adding [[Category:Name]] at the end of the page in edit mode or click the "Add category" button. A list of categories can be found on Special:Categories.
- Does the article look like a giant wall of text? Try to add some relevant images.
- Add some wikilinks.
- Add fitting templates.
Studs[edit source]
Studs are articles that consist of only one sentence or paragraph. Usually, articles on Brickipedia should contain a significant amount of information and they have to be expanded beyond a small introduction that describes what a set contains, or when a theme has been released.
- When dealing with a set, add a section that describes the set's content and its functions in greater detail.
- Does the set contain rare pieces or special features? Is it in another way important to the theme or the history of LEGO?
- Themes often have a longer history of releases. Try to write an overview of it. They also have characteristics and features that make them special, set them apart from other themes.
- In addition to providing a simple list of related sets, you could write a text that describes those sets' context and importance inside the theme or the history of LEGO.
Expand larger articles[edit source]
Many longer articles still don't contain a desirable amount of information. Some may even consist of just one long list of sets or minifigures. These articles are technically still studs, since they contain only little continuous text and should be improved accordingly as described above.
- If an article already has a considerable length try to check which of the aspects listed above could still be added.
- Some lists may be helpful (e.g. a list of a theme's sets). But does the article use other lists to present information that could be conveyed better in the form of continuous text?
- If the article is about a theme based on a movie or a series, tell the reader which movie scenes or series episodes, as well as significant locations or props are recreated in the sets.
Article structuring and section headings[edit source]
Brickipedia is known as one of the only "LEGO Encyclopedias", around, making it easy for any children or even adult LEGO fans to visit this site. However, it has occured that the description is too complicated, and that even some of the users can't understand or read the text. This is commonly due to lack of build up. We don't want people to visit just for the pictures (Though this is obviously permittable). Here is how we may organize the description to make it more interesting and easier to read:
- Lead section (no heading): Short paragraph that describes the basic infos of the set like release year, theme, rough overview of the content etc. Information about the sets release. It's common practice on most wikis that such a lead section does not have a section heading.
- Description: Detailed description of the sets content and functions.
- Background: Text that describes the background/context of the featured model in its respective fictional universe (keep it short and simple)
- Notes: Additional information about rare pieces (pieces that appear in just one or two sets), pieces that make their first or last appearance in this set or other peculiarities.
- LEGO.com description (since the citation box looks like a "roadblock" it shouldn't come after the actual description because it's too obtrusive, instead it should be positioned at the end of the running text of an article)
- Minifigures included:To display the minifigures included of the exact variant.
- See also: Links to related articles on Brickipedia, e.g. sets with a similar subject, appearance etc. or articles that describe a related subject with a broader scope or present an overview of related sets. (Not links to the parent theme or a simple list of sets of the same theme)
- Sources/References: reftags from the articles
- External links: At the end of the article
